Reflections

Now that I have been back in the U.S. for a couple of months, I have had a lot of time to reflect on my experience in Peru. It was truly amazing to think of what I was able to do during those 3 months. I took with me all of the knowledge I had gained from a world-famous business institution, Thunderbird School of Global Management, and directly worked with those in need. I didn't just sit in a fancy chair with a board of executives talking about CSR initiatives for PR purposes, but I was able to give directly to those in need. That is what I'm all about. I have learned that I absolutely love to help people at the "bottom of the pyramid". I understand now how important it is that I hold myself in a business-like and professional manner, but I don't really care to "impress", so to speak, the big business dogs. I want to continue being a person with whom the common people can relate to. If the common of this world could only see what they are capable of being, there would be so much more prosperity. What better way to relay this message of hope to people than by mentoring, working with, and inspiring these people one on one.
What I aim to do now is find a full time job doing similar work. I would absolutely love to work in the field directly with people in need. I want to help entrepreneurs in the developing world build their knowledge base on business in order to create more jobs and more wealth. These common people are the key for job creation! Many countries in the world face a growing young population who are entering the job market and have no where to go. This will be a serious problem unless addressed properly.

Looking back

 The lovely ladies from my classroom visits. Here we discussed potential business ideas and created business growth models. These classroom visits were designed to cover as much ground as possible and spread our free business advice to those who had yet to start their own business, but had the dream of doing so.

 Four of my awesome graduates! Each of these ladies had competed the course requirements provided by the NGO, EL Gran Salto. These requirements included attending the mass training, have 3 on-site personal visits from a mentor (me), and complete a 3 year business growth plan. I'm so proud of them!

 The beautiful and amazing Ana Maria. She was by far the lead intern of the group, working countless hours on El Gran Salto's facebook page, coordinating with alumni, and planning for her own clients' visits.

Jordan the stud Flake. He and I pretty much spent 3 months together in a taxi in Lima. I'll give him a lot of credit for humoring my lame jokes during those long, traffic-filled days.

This is my man Esteben! He's not only our taxi driver but our all around guide to Peruvian culture, including jokes I couldn't share at Thunderbird.

Just like on my mission or different sales jobs I've had, appointments fall through all too often. Luckily on this day it was national potato day and this park had an awesome celebration going with these kids dancing in traditional dress.

This is the wonderful Deybi at her puesto (spot) before I recommended she change her letrero (sign).

Here's her brand new sign! Doesn't it look great?

We got so stoked about the new sign that we had to take a moment to celebrate. She has got to be the most hip hop lady I have met in Peru!

At lunch in the park one day these two chicas asked if they could take their picture with me. I reluctantly said yes.

This is Deybi's market place neighbor. Her baby has the cutest cheeks ever! 

Here is Bertha. She has the most advanced business of any of my clients with 3 operating tiendas (stores). She hopes to grow big in the coming months and I totally can see that happen!

She looked happier in the picture without me...

 This is Zenaida at her little market spot. She has an amazingly inspirational story of how she started her sewing business that focuses on making school uniforms. She used to sew during the middle of the night because that was the only time she could get a hold of a sewing machine when someone else wasn't using it. Eventually she was able to receive a micro loan from Mibanco and has since bought two sewing machines. Her business has been very constant as everyone in Chorrillos knows she does the best work. The picture below is Zenaida's house where the sewing production happens. When she finishes paying off her current loan she wants to take out another one so she can buy an additional machine and have her daughter start helping out with the business.

This is the famous Liberata. She sells wallets, backpacks, and purses. She also loves Micheal Jackson!

Back to Business!

Over a year has gone by since I have written in this blog but much has happened in my life to lead me to where I am today! After graduating from BYU and finishing my internship with Microbusiness Mentors, I was still hungry to go out into the world and do something with micro finance. Before graduating I kept bugging my social entrepreneur mentor/idol, Warner Woodworth, about internships I could do outside of the U.S. He explained to me that the micro finance industry isn't what it used to be where some excited and adventurous kid could just show up to a micro finance institution in Mexico or something and start working there just because he had a big heart. You have to be somebody and have some kind of exceptional talent and experience to get involved, he explained. Nevertheless, he said he would send my resume to some of his contacts in Latin America and see if they wanted my help. As weeks went by Warner never heard back from anyone, and my own efforts to contact micro finance institutions hadn't produced any results. Still wanting to get out and conquer the world, I had a crazy idea come to mind.

                                                                                                 

Right after graduating from BYU I bought a ticket to Puerto Rico and just went. I figured that Puerto Rico would be ideal because it's very Latin, culturally speaking, and yet it's still a territory of the United States so I wouldn't need a work visa should I actually find work. During my first couple of days down there I found a few development banks and tried giving them a call. I soon found out that only one of these banks, called Corporacion Para las Microfinanzas, was really dedicated to the cause of micro finance, and fortunately, I was allowed to come in for an interview. To my utmost joy the interview went great and I was told that there was most likely at least a volunteer position available to me. The lady said she would get back in touch with me soon and let me know what they would have me do. The rest of this story is contained in the sealed portion of my blog and will be released when the moment is right. Needless to say I wasn't able to work in micro finance at that time, but through enrolling at Thunderbird School of Global Management I have been able to get involved in an amazing internship.

I currently work for Proyecto Salta, an NGO dedicated to mentoring female entrepreneurs coming from under developed communities throughout Lima, Peru. Thunderbird, along with partners such as the Inter-American Development Bank, Mibanco, and the Australian government are sponsoring the 6 of us Thunderbirds. My job is to visit with these ladies at their business, often times right in their house, and identify areas in which they can improve. Many of these ladies don't have any knowledge of finance or accounting, so quite often I'm teaching the basics of cash flow! We also talk about everything related to business- publicity, marketing, sales...you name it. I love this internship so much! The best part is getting these ladies excited and having them tell me what their dreams are. They have got to be the funnest and most creative people I have met!

This experience definitely has me thinking about where I'll go next. It's hard to get the travel bug out of your system so I wouldn't be surprised if I keep this up somehow. Directly helping people is so rewarding. I actually quite enjoyed different sales jobs I have had because I could also work directly with people, but in the end I still had to sell them something to get paid. Development is a broad industry but I want to somehow make it a part of my career, whether its through volunteer work on the side, extra business ventures, or even my full time job. We'll see!

Over a year has gone by since I have written in this blog but much has happened in my life to lead me to where I am today! After graduating from BYU and finishing my internship with Microbusiness Mentors, I was still hungry to go out into the world and do something with micro finance. Before graduating I kept bugging my social entrepreneur mentor/idol, Warner Woodworth, about internships I could do outside of the U.S. He explained to me that the micro finance industry isn't what it used to be where some excited and adventurous kid could just show up to a micro finance institution in Mexico or something and start working there just because he had a big heart. You have to be somebody and have some kind of exceptional talent and experience to get involved, he explained. Nevertheless, he said he would send my resume to some of his contacts in Latin America and see if they wanted my help. As weeks went by Warner never heard back from anyone, and my own efforts to contact micro finance institutions hadn't produced any results. Still wanting to get out and conquer the world, I had a crazy idea come to mind.

                                                                                                 

Right after graduating from BYU I bought a ticket to Puerto Rico and just went. I figured that Puerto Rico would be ideal because it's very Latin, culturally speaking, and yet it's still a territory of the United States so I wouldn't need a work visa should I actually find work. During my first couple of days down there I found a few development banks and tried giving them a call. I soon found out that only one of these banks, called Corporacion Para las Microfinanzas, was really dedicated to the cause of micro finance, and fortunately, I was allowed to come in for an interview. To my utmost joy the interview went great and I was told that there was most likely at least a volunteer position available to me. The lady said she would get back in touch with me soon and let me know what they would have me do. The rest of this story is contained in the sealed portion of my blog and will be released when the moment is right. Needless to say I wasn't able to work in micro finance at that time, but through enrolling at Thunderbird School of Global Management I have been able to get involved in an amazing internship.

I currently work for Proyecto Salta, an NGO dedicated to mentoring female entrepreneurs coming from under developed communities throughout Lima, Peru. Thunderbird, along with partners such as the Inter-American Development Bank, Mibanco, and the Australian government are sponsoring the 6 of us Thunderbirds. My job is to visit with these ladies at their business, often times right in their house, and identify areas in which they can improve. Many of these ladies don't have any knowledge of finance or accounting, so quite often I'm teaching the basics of cash flow! We also talk about everything related to business- publicity, marketing, sales...you name it. I love this internship so much! The best part is getting these ladies excited and having them tell me what their dreams are. They have got to be the funnest and most creative people I have met!

This experience definitely has me thinking about where I'll go next. It's hard to get the travel bug out of your system so I wouldn't be surprised if I keep this up somehow. Directly helping people is so rewarding. I actually quite enjoyed different sales jobs I have had because I could also work directly with people, but in the end I still had to sell them something to get paid. Development is a broad industry but I want to somehow make it a part of my career, whether its through volunteer work on the side, extra business ventures, or even my full time job. We'll see!